An Actor´s Life | Does Copenhagen really want to be an international city?

March 29th, 2014 7:02 pm| by admin

What If only one Danish theatre critic (thanks Gregers D. Holmfeld) took the time to come and see your latest production of something that you’d worked hard on with a great international team (in this case, ‘The God of Carnage’ by Yasmina Reza), what conclusions would you arrive at?

I am constantly trying to improve the cultural wealth of Copenhagen (big of me, eh?), and to a large extent I am succeeding without their interest, ‘So what have I got to moan about?’ I hear you ask, dear reader.

Internationally not cutting it Well this: do they really want this city to be international? I don’t think they know what they want.

They obviously don’t want their readers to know what my theatre company has to offer, and I’m getting tired of their apathy, so perhaps I ought to stop inviting them?

They never reply anyway, which apart from being rude is beginning to grate on my Celtic temperament.

Not one of these self-confessed culture junkies wanted to interview our esteemed theatre director Harry Burton during the six weeks he spent here – all a bit embarrassing and shameful.

A quick Google search would have provided all the spoon-feeding these ‘journalists’ could possibly need.

I wonder how many of them will be interested in my plan to produce Danish comedies in English every summer?

I will after all be promoting Danish culture in a language most people understand. All things dansk are seemingly hot property right now aren’t they? Film, TV series, food, city-planning, childcare for infants – how the Brits envy this, and rightly so.

Tourism is losing out There’s a hole in the market, as no-one beyond Kronborg Castle’s August Shakespeare performances seems to care about non-Danish speakers at this time of the year.

I’ve lived here for 23 years and know this to be fact.

Wonderful Copenhagen’s mandate is to bring as many people as possible to these shores, but once they’re here they are not pro-active in promoting anything apart from the usual suspects (Little Mermaid, Tivoli et al).

A crap vision Like Eurovision! (Yawn!) Probably the biggest waste of money on the planet as it hypes up the presentation of mediocre songs by mediocre artists clad in hysterical nationalistic fervour that ensures we already know who everyone will vote for months in advance.

It’s a bit of fun, granted, but it’s a piece of bubble gum that quickly loses its flavour. Like the presenters when Denmark last hosted in 2001?

“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, welcome back Captain Death and the tooth-fairy!” BBC commentator Terry Wogan said of them back then.

I heard he had to apologise afterwards! Incredible – if true. Well, I stand to be counted alongside the wit and tongue-in-cheek humour of Sir Terry on this one.

What on earth lies in wait for us this year? I don’t really give a rat’s arse as I won’t be watching it. I’ll be performing in ‘No!’ by Johan L Heiberg at Hofteatret, and then watching as much of the World Cup as possible. Can’t wait for that.